LDS Church Announces Largest Mission Ever With 1,200 Missionaries

Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy announced the newest mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today. Currently known as the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission, the new Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission will officially become the 422nd mission of the Church on January 1, 2017.

Elder Christensen announced the change to missionaries in a special meeting in Salt Lake City. Elder Bradley D. Foster of the Seventy and Elder J. Devn Cornish of the Seventy also attended.

“The Family and Church History Headquarters Mission has evolved over time to be a very unique mission. It has also experienced remarkable growth. This new mission will allow these wonderful missionaries to further the work in many meaningful ways,” said Elder Christensen.

Missionaries in the Family and Church History Headquarters Mission do more than family history work. They serve with the Temple Department, military relations, security, building maintenance and other areas.

President Warren G. Tate will serve as mission president. President Clark Larson and President Randy Hansen will serve as counselors.

Under the direction of President Tate, senior missionaries can also be assigned to local branches and proselytize in the inner-city areas outside normal office hours.

President Tate expressed his excitement about what this means for the mission. He said, “This will give our missionaries … the opportunity to assist local priesthood leaders in the Salt Lake City area by serving members and those not of our faith to find their ancestors by using FamilySearch, teaching them the gospel and providing service.”

While the largest mission of the Church in terms of the number of missionaries, it’s one of the smallest geographically, second only to the Temple Square Mission. It’s comprised of service missionaries, full-time missionaries, senior couples and single sister missionaries.